


Sucker Punch

by SilverMyfanwy



Series: Silver writes Stucky [3]
Category: Captain America (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Boxing, Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Bucky Barnes Feels, Bucky Barnes Has Issues, Bucky Barnes Has PTSD, Happy Ending, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Missing Persons, Natasha Romanov Is a Good Bro, Post-Serum Steve Rogers, Sam Wilson Is a Good Bro
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-01
Updated: 2019-10-01
Packaged: 2020-10-28 02:08:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,023
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20770778
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SilverMyfanwy/pseuds/SilverMyfanwy
Summary: Bucky was supposed to be missing, presumed dead.Not standing opposite Steve in a boxing ring, half naked with bandaged hands and new scars all over his torso.





	Sucker Punch

**Author's Note:**

> TRIGGER WARNINGS:  
Boxing match  
Missing person  
Grief over someone who's gone missing and is presumed dead  
Mild descriptions of scars  
-  
Title from Sucker Punch by Sigrid.

“1, 2; 1, 2; almost done; 1, 2; 1, 2; stop.”

Steve slumped against the wall, panting heavily. Sam patted him on the shoulder and grinned. “Good job, buddy.”

Steve smiled and started unwrapping his hands. “I’m feeling good about this one.”

Sam grinned. “Yeah?”

Steve nodded. “I can beat him.”

Sam folded his arms and leaned against the wall. “You think you can beat everyone.”

“I can beat him, though!” Steve insisted.

“No one’s ever come close to beating the Winter Soldier. No one knows who he is, half of the area thinks he’s an alien and even Nat can’t find out who he really is.” Sam paused. “Plus, he has seemingly super-human strength and muscles the size of my head. But yeah, I think you can beat him.”

“I will.” Steve said confidently. “Trust me. I will.”

-

_“I’m home!” Steve set his keys down and walked into the kitchen. The apartment was silent. “Bucky! I’m home!”_

_There was silence. Steve frowned and headed for the bedroom. “Bucky?”_

_He wasn’t there._

_“Bucky! Where are you?”_

-

Natasha drove Steve to the gym. “You excited?”

“Yes.”

“You nervous?”

“Yes.”

“You gonna win?”

There was a moment of silence.

“You'd better, coz I’ve got a bet on you.”

Steve laughed. “Okay. I’ll win.”

“Good boy.”

-

_“Hey, Bucky, I’ve just got back to the flat. I can’t find you anywhere. I’m worrying. Ring me as soon as you get this, okay? I love you.”_

-

Sam finished wrapping Steve’s hands and patted Steve on the shoulders. “Go get him.” he gave Steve his gum shield and Steve headed over to the ring. He swung his arms a few times, then climbed in.

The Winter Soldier was waiting on the other side of the ring. Steve ignored the scarring all over his chest and arms and glared at the man in the red bandanna, He glared back.

The referee started the match and Steve attacked, getting in six good punches before the Winter Soldier retaliated.

They were fairly evenly matched for the first three rounds. In the fourth, Steve had the upper hand, and in the fifth it was the Winter Soldier.

Then the sixth began and Steve attacked with a fury.

-

_“Hey, Nat, is Bucky with you?”_

_“No. Is everything alright?”_

_“No. He’s not in the flat and he’s not answering his phone.”_

_“Where are you?”_

_“At home.”_

_“I’ll be there in ten. _ _We’ll find him.”_

_“I’m scared.”_

_“I know.”_

-

The Winter Soldier fought back ferociously, both of them desperate to win.

Steve was running on over-confidence and a wish to be the first person to beat the Winter Soldier. He launched a killer hook, the Winter Soldier blocked, and his bandanna slipped.

Steve froze. “Bucky?”

-

_“Sam, Bucky’s gone missing.”_

_“He’s what?”_

_“I can’t find him anywhere and-”_

_“Breathe man, breathe. Text me where you are and I’ll help you look. Deep breaths now, come on.”_

-

He heard Sam swear in the crowd and Steve didn’t blame him.

Bucky was supposed to be missing, presumed dead.

Not standing opposite Steve in a boxing ring, half naked with bandaged hands and new scars all over his torso.

Bucky- for there was no doubting it was anyone but him – looked at Steve with eyes full of fear and vaulted over the ropes to leg it out of the gym.

Steve ran after him, all thoughts of the match flying out of his mind. “Bucky!”

But Bucky was gone and Steve was left standing on the pavement, staring out at the traffic and the pedestrians, desperately searching for his boyfriend.

He wasn’t there.

-

_The woman looked up from the desk. “Can I help you?”_

_Steve was shaking. “I’d like to report a missing person.”_

_“Who is it that you are reporting missing?”_

_Steve’s vision went blurry with tears. “My boyfriend. James Buchanan Barnes. He hasn’t been seen in over 24 hours, he’s not answering his phone and we- we can’t find him anywhere.” His voice broke and he sobbed into his hand._

_Nat took over._

-

“Has someone rung the police?” Steve had a towel draped over his head. His face was in his hands, elbows on knees as he sat on the curb outside the gym.

Sam nodded. “The police are already looking for him. As soon as you’re ready, we’ll go and help.”

“What about Nat?”

“She’s going over all the Winter Soldier stuff.” Sam handed Steve a chocolate bar. “Eat; you’ll feel better. Then we’ll go and help.”

Steve was silent.

Sam could feel him shaking as he pulled him into a hug.

-

_They delivered over 1000 flyers._

_They were A4._

_Steve had wanted to use a photo from Christmas the year before; where Bucky was smiling with clean hair and in a Christmas jumper. Sam pointed out that anyone who did see Bucky would not be able to recognise him from that photo._

_He would not be smiling._

_They didn’t think he would, anyway._

_He would not be wearing a Christmas jumper because it was March._

_He would not have clean hair._

_They didn’t think he would, anyway._

_They used a photo from about a year after Bucky left the military. He looked tired and thin._

_There were two sets of contact details and a brief description of Bucky’s medical conditions._

_No one ever rang to say they’d seen him._

-

They searched all over the city.

Steve spent hours walking, looking, calling, asking people if they’d seen Bucky.

No one had.

At dark, he went back to the gym to reconvene with Nat and Sam.

“What do we do now?” Nat asked. She blanched at Steve’s look of surprise. “You didn’t think we were gonna leave you to do this by yourself, did you? We want him back too.”

Steve set his jaw. “We go find him.”

“Like that’s not what we’ve been trying to do.” Sam deadpanned.

“We’ve been _looking _for him.” Steve said. “We’ve seen him now. So we move onto finding him.”

-

_They held a vigil at six months._

_There were around 100 people who knew Bucky either from work, their area or were friends and family. They gathered in the park, lit candles, put flowers around the Christmas photo of him, the local pastor prayed, some people sang something Steve didn’t pay any attention to._

_Sharon said it made the local news._

_Steve couldn’t bring himself to watch more than the first 10 seconds of the reporter acting like Bucky was dead._

_He turned the TV off and slammed his fist into the arm of the sofa with a snarl. Then he screamed and threw the remote at the wall._

-

With Nat’s new intel from a variety of questionably legal sources, Steve and Sam drew up a map of places it was likely Bucky had gone to.

Then they went to try and find him.

-

_Steve finished drying his hair with a towel and picked up his phone to text Thor about going for a run. He frowned at the sight of a missed call and tapped to see who it was from._

_It was from Bucky._

-

“Excuse me, have you seen this man?” Steve held the poster out to a woman with dreadlocks.

She frowned and pursed her lips. “I might have done.”

Steve’s heart rate began to pick up. “Where?”

“The woods.” She pointed to the left. “Down there.”

“Thank you so much.” Steve started to walk towards the woods and rang Natasha. “Someone thinks she might have seen him.”

“I’ll track your phone and ring Sam.”

They searched the wood for hours.

They didn’t see the rucksack hidden in a tree.

-

_Steve spent five hours frantically texting and ringing Bucky after the missed call._

_He didn’t reply._

-

It wasn’t Steve who found Bucky.

It was Bucky who found Steve.

Someone pulled up the stool next to Steve’s at the bar and sat down.

“I’m not interested in a drink.” Steve said dully, not looking up.

“I didn’t offer.”

Steve looked up so fast he got whiplash. “What are you doing here?”

“Came to talk to you.” Bucky said.

“Seriously? Right, what- what’s going on? Why did you leave, why’ve you been boxing, did you mean to reing me that-”

“Steve.” Bucky interjected thickly. His lips were trembling and he swallowed. “I love you. And I’m sorry that I vanished, but I had to.” He placed a hand on the counter and splayed his fingers. “I’m sorry. I love you. I’m sorry. I love you.”

“Why did you go?”

“Wanted you to be safe.” Bucky muttered, beginning to tap his fingers anxiously. His eyes darted around the room.

“Come back.” Steve said desperately. “Come back home, please. I love you, I miss you, we all miss you, Bucky, and your family-”

“I’m sorry.” Bucky choked out suddenly, leaping off his stool and running out.

Steve put his head in his arms and sobbed.

-

_Steve spent the day after the missed call standing at the bathroom sink and weeping._

-

Steve cried all night then slept all day. Sam and Natasha continued searching.

“Someone reckons he’ll have taken the bus.” Nat said. “We’re gonna ask around the station tomorrow. You gonna come with us?”

Steve nodded.

-

_The hope Steve had gained from the missed call soon vanished. Bucky didn’t call again, no one saw him and there was silence._

_Six months turned into 7, to 9, to 12._

_Steve spent the day that marked a year since Bucky’s disappearance in silence, sitting on the sofa and staring at his phone in the hope that it might ring._

_It didn’t._

_-_

“I saw him.” The young man nodded, looking at the piece of paper in Sam’s hand. “Yeah. He was on the 380. Goes that way to South Pike.”

“How did he seem?” Steve asked. He was clutching Nat’s hand tightly.

“He looked like he’d been crying or had really bad hay fever. I noticed him because he didn’t have earbuds in.”

“Did he look scared?”

The man shook his head, auburn curls bobbing up and down. “Nah. He just looked beat.”

-

“This is the town?” Nat asked.

Sam checked the map. “Yep. I’ll search here. You try the other end.” He got out of the car and Nat and Steve drove on in silence.

-

They spread out along the edge of the field and called out to Bucky.

He didn’t come.

They got into the car and drove to the next town.

-

“Stop the car.”

“What the hell? I can’t just stop the-”

“It’s Bucky by the side of the road up there, stop the car!”

Sam stopped the car, Steve already jumping out.

“BUCKY!”

The sun was shining, the road was empty and there was nothing around them but fields of corn for miles and miles.

Bucky was standing on the edge of the road in a black long sleeved top. His hair was long and brushing his shoulders, his jeans were ripped and is boots were muddy. There was a rucksack on the ground behind him and his arms hung limply at his side.

He looked up as Steve jogged towards him.

“Bucky.” Steve tried to stop. He stood a meter away from him. “What are you doing out here?”

“I knew this is where you were looking for me.” Bucky said.

They stared at each other for a while.

“Come home with me.” Steve was expecting Bucky to run, or punch him, or walk away. “Come home with me. Please.”

“Home.” Bucky sounded the word out as if he had never spoken it before.

Steve asked one more time because he knew his voice would break if he continued. “Come home with me.”

Bucky nodded.

Steve’s knees buckled but he managed not to fall down. Tears started streaming down his face. He stepped towards Bucky and took his hand, kissing the knuckles. “Thank you.”

“I love you.” Bucky whispered, voice full of fear.

Steve wrapped Bucky in his arms and wept even more when Bucky buried his face in the crook of his neck for the first time in years and he felt Bucky’s body shake with sobs. “I love you too. I love you too.”

His boy was coming home.

**Author's Note:**

> I'm silvermyfanwy on Tumblr!


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